Carrying bags come in a wide variety of forms and styles. As used herein, the term “bag” refers to any of various different types of carrying bags including, packs, duffels, totes, sacks, and any of various other types of bags.
A backpack style carrying bag, commonly called a backpack, may be useful for some applications because it allows the wearer to distribute the weight of the bag over both shoulders and the back. Additionally, both of the wearer's hands may be free while carrying a backpack.
Backpacks are also found in a variety of forms. Trekking backpacks, used for hiking and camping expeditions, may include internal or external frames made of carbon fiber or aluminum, have capacities of 100 liters, include additional straps that cross the wearer's chest, waist and hips to better distribute weight and weigh 8 pounds when empty. For everyday use, a trekking backpack may be unnecessarily large and bulky and a smaller, simpler backpack may meet the wearer's needs. For example, for transporting a few lightweight items, cinch sacks or sack packs (which may also be referred to as drawstring backpacks) with capacities of around 8 liters and weights of just a few ounces may be sufficient.
Cinch sacks are designed with cords in the form of straps, ropes, strings, or other cords that double as drawstrings to control the opening at the top of the bag. In a common example of a cinch sack, the straps of the cinch sack pass through a channel that surrounds the opening at the top of the bag. When the opening is opened, the channel is elongated and large portions of the straps are drawn into the channel. When the opening is closed, the channel is cinched so that it is shortened and smaller portions of the straps are drawn into the channel. This design allows for simplicity as the assembly may require as little as a simple sack and two drawstrings resulting in relatively low manufacturing costs for the drawstring backpacks. However, when the wearer dons the cinch sack, the drawstrings may dig into the shoulders of the wearer, particularly if the cinch sack is laden with a significant amount of weight.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved cinch sack that addresses issues associated with using a simple carrying bag to transport significant weight. In view of the foregoing, it would be advantageous to provide an improved cinch sack which allows a wearer to maintain comfort while using the cinch sack to transport significant weight. It would be further advantageous if this cinch sack does not have increased complexity such that the original benefits of using a small, simple bag are not lost.